Insights

January 2019 marked the one-year anniversary of the inception of the US - China trade war. What started with the US increasing import tariffs on Chinese solar panels and washing machines, later spiralled into retaliatory and counter-retaliatory tariff measures between the two countries. Throughout much of 2018, the global business community looked on with apprehension as the two largest economies escalated their trade dispute, which, at its peak, tallied 360 billion USD in combined tariffs. At the close of 2018, the world breathed a sigh of relief when the US and China called for a temporary truce and agreed to resume trade negotiations.

The global economic cycle has peaked and businesses face a more downbeat outlook in 2019. With risks increasing, how can businesses continue to achieve growth and thrive in the year ahead? Among the 5,000 mid-market business leaders Grant Thornton interviewed as part of the IBR’s global economic outlook, global optimism sits at net 39%, a fall of 15 percentage points (pp) from net 54% in Q2 2018. This is the weakest optimism score seen since Q4 2016.

Welcome to our Champions for action homepage as part of our 2019 Women in business campaign. Our champions for action are global business figures leading the charge for gender diversity. Each Champion has shared a variety of challenges, success stories, advice and practical solutions for addressing gender parity at the senior management level.

Our 2019 Women in business report: building a blueprint for action shows that progress is being made towards gender parity at the senior management level. The last 12 months have seen increases in both the proportion of senior roles held by women and the proportion of businesses with at least one woman in senior management.

In 2019, our Women in business campaign will focus on the real world and seeking solutions to leadership diversity. What is holding back women in leadership? How can we put in place a blueprint for action? This year marks a shift in our reporting on gender diversity in senior management. Our 2019 Women in business report: building a blueprint for action explores how to find out how momentum is building and how we can all drive change.

Family-run businesses in Thailand have a combined net worth of approximately THB 30 trillion, out of a total net worth of THB 42 trillion from all Thai businesses. Around 80% of all businesses in Thailand are owned or controlled by families, with an impressive figure of approximately three-fourth of all businesses listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand are family-run businesses.

Across all industries, effective management of the entire end-to-end value chain can drive significant improvements both in terms of cash flow as well as profits. For retailers, however, the optimal strategy can be even more tightly focused, as cash and profits go hand in hand. The faster stock can be turned, the more profit and cash can be generated. Even so, the aim should not just be about turning stock quickly, but rather about turning the right stock quickly – and knowing how to align the speed of your supply chain to ever changing customer demands.

The future economic effects of artificial intelligence are hard to calculate, but are likely to be staggering. A study by McKinsey Global Institute estimated that worldwide GDP could increase by up to $13 trillion by 2030 as a result of AI alone. Current research within APAC, however, shows that companies across te region have yet to prepare themselves for the next generation of computing – with fewer than half of them having begun to make the necessary transition in earnest, even as four in five already agree that AI adoption is a necessary step for staying competitive.

General artificial intelligence – the idea that a computer can simulate (or surpass) human performance in all situations – remains a distant goal, perhaps never to be achieved. But by breaking down human mental activity into discrete processes, and by optimising specialised processes for speed and accuracy, computers can excel far beyond human performance.

APAC remains the most dynamic region in the world in 2018. Expected to grow by 5.5% this year, the region is set to account for almost two-thirds of global growth, with strong GDP projections of 5.6% continuing into 2019. Grant Thornton’s International Business Report (IBR) also signifies sustained business leader optimism in the region. Net optimism sits at net 55% in Q2 2018, up 27pp from Q2 2017. ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is a particularly bright spot. At net 64%, business optimism in ASEAN has reached a record high against healthy projected growth of more than 5% each year between now and 2022.

Towards the end of last year, I had the opportunity to attend our global conference in Vancouver and was honoured to listen to one of the gurus sharing a great deal of information around unconscious bias and why it’s important to be “bias aware”. It’s not easy, but when the concept is learnt and understood, it allows us to pause and think before we make any judgement or decision.

With 2019 now well underway, distinct themes are beginning to emerge that are likely to shape global economic developments for the remainder of the year. Amid likely slowdowns within some of the major world economies, developing regions such as ASEAN will have a golden opportunity to take the initiative. The question is whether key countries such as Thailand will make the necessary adjustments in order to capitalise on their good fortune.

In this article, we explain how taxpayers could leverage on Advance Pricing Agreements (“APAs”) to guard against the uncertainties of tax compliance in an era of increasingly complex tax rules.

There may be a storm brewing in some of the world’s largest economies as businesses come to terms with a skilled worker shortage. Are technology and mobility two options for businesses struggling to find talent?

Keeping pace with a fast-moving economy means continually re-investing profits to fund future growth. Although many companies struggle to access the liquidity needed to enable timely investment, a proactive approach to working capital management can free up significant untapped cash within any business, providing a platform for longer term, sustainable growth.

Thailand’s push toward its 4.0 economic model gained a lot of momentum in 2018, as the government made investments and policy changes in countless areas to smooth the way for business. The way forward is clear on most fronts, and the next decade is sure to be an exciting one for Thailand and the advanced manufacturing and digital economy that is well on its way.